Torture, then Hell
I hope there is an especially nasty level of hell reserved for school shooters and child molesters. I know this is a visceral reaction and not very Christian of me, but I cannot help but think such indiviuals are beyond the Pale and deserve anything particularly nasty that comes their way. Please forgive me, Lord.
First we had the fifty-something with a criminal record as long as an August day in Anchorage, who molested the six girls he took hostage before killing one when the police stormed him. He took his own life, which is probably good from a theological point of view (better chance of ending up in hell), but I would love to have been the SWAT member that got to put a dum-dum through his head and watch it explode.
You can thank liberal judges -- doubtless Carter or Clinton appoitnees -- for this man, who'd spent six years (?!) behind bars for killing his girlfriend, being set free to sexually assault and kill innocent teens. The criminals' rights trump rights to basic public safety in the minds of BlueStaters.
Sorry again....not at all Christian. Perhaps as the cop, I could have said a silent prayer for his forgiveness as I pulled the trigger. You never know...
Then there was the semi-copy-cat killing of a school principal in Wisconsin by a student who complained that school authorities let other kids tease him for being homosexual (which is NOT a mental or emotional disorder, of course...) He just walked into school with handfulls of guns and started shooting. Sounds like he'd have done well in LA schools, whiere such things are the daily norm.
Finally, we have a fatal shooting today at an Amish (!?) school in Lancaster Co. PA. WTF,O? Again, clearly a copy-cat case. The perp killed at least three before turning the gun on himself. What evil would motivate such an act in a pacifist Mennonite community? Against their children?
Okay...let me make something clear: I will pray for the souls of these perpetrators and hope they can find some true reconciliation with God, but I am not averse to hastening or delaying their ultimate fates, by cruel and unusual means if warranted, despite the fact that a ridiculous clause in the Constitution takes away much of the deterrent power of punishment. Torture and brutal coercion work, on several levels, for several reasons, which is why I favor thier use against enemy combatants in our "war on terror." (The idea that humane treatment of jihadis will get us any fewer torturings and beheadings of US troops is the worst sort of errant squishy-pink, fern-bar nonsense. Thank you, John 'pink-panties' McCain) If you don't believe me, ask people in the mob-controlled neighborhoods of North Boston, downtown Atlantic City, and the Shreveport LA waterfront why violent crime rates have gone down so much. The real "authorities" in those neighborhoods (the mob) aren't as scrupulous as the police are and yet they preside over areas with great crime potential. Jane Jacobs talks about this in re North Boston in The Death and Life of Great American Cities. Effective enforcement of public decorum, even if potentially brutal, makes for better neighborhoods.
Okay, so I'll pray for the souls of the perps in these cases, but I have no problems hastening those who commit violent acts against children along the paths to meeting their gods. I think the government should bring back a punishment that was popular in 17th and 18th century England and America: It was usually called "half-hanging:" The criminal was strangled on the gallows (vice having his neck broken) until nearly dead. Then he was pulled down and his limbs lashed to four horses, who were spooked into bolting in different directions, dismembering the victim ("drawing and quartering"). (This could best be done with cars today). The head of the hapless criminal was usually stcuk somewhere prominent, pour le encourage le outres."
Kill all such criminals, and may God sort them out.
Monk
Update 03 Oct 06: It appears from TV reports that the Amish murderer tied his victims up and killed them execution style (thankfully, not all died). It all appears to revolve around the fact that he was jilted twenty or so years ago and was left embittered. Two observations:
1) This is the obvious and inevitable result of cultural liberalism -- the "Me and My Hemerrhoids Generation" and the idea that subjective feelings trump public behavior; an idea that pervades everything from liberal radio to the liberal courts. Liberals and Democrats killed those children every bit as much as the lone psycho did.
2) Drawing and quartering is too good for this guy. He should have his skin flayed with a length of razor wire, then be sewn inside a fresh cowhide with a colony of fire ants and left in the West Texas sun to dry.
God please forgive my mean-spiritedness, but some are predestinened to follow God, others to follow their own gods. I think we're fairly safe in classifying this guy.
Monk - Honorary Grand Inquisitor
Update 3 Oct 06: The Duchess of Austin replies:
I wouldn't say so much that I'm bloodthirsty by nature, just that this confluence of evil events has put me in a bloodthirsty mood. This does not reflect good Christian practice, however, so I must try to get myself out of it.
I agree with the points you make in your comment, however. We've proven through a century of using prisons as a social petrie dish that reforming prisoners does not work. Centuries of earlier human experience proved that more "cruel and unusual" measures (by our standards today) do deter. Incidentally, torture is a very effective method of extracting information (as long as the info can be verified and the victim threatened with worse consequences if caught lying), think of it what you will. In fact, the best way of using it is to torture mildly and threaten worse, letting the victim's mind do most of the inquisitor's work for him. Imagined pain is usually worse than the real thing, because the latter can be gotten used to. A declassified Army manual on interrogation techniques of World War II vintage -- from back when we were unapologetic about such things -- makes the point in almost these very words. (Sadly, it's in my private library, not on the internet, so no link.)
Capital punishment is really effective only if it's swift and certain, as you say. Corporal punishment has been an accepted part of many Christian nations' practice for centuries. Why? Because it works.
Welcome, by the way; it's always good to hear from new readers.
Monk
First we had the fifty-something with a criminal record as long as an August day in Anchorage, who molested the six girls he took hostage before killing one when the police stormed him. He took his own life, which is probably good from a theological point of view (better chance of ending up in hell), but I would love to have been the SWAT member that got to put a dum-dum through his head and watch it explode.
You can thank liberal judges -- doubtless Carter or Clinton appoitnees -- for this man, who'd spent six years (?!) behind bars for killing his girlfriend, being set free to sexually assault and kill innocent teens. The criminals' rights trump rights to basic public safety in the minds of BlueStaters.
Sorry again....not at all Christian. Perhaps as the cop, I could have said a silent prayer for his forgiveness as I pulled the trigger. You never know...
Then there was the semi-copy-cat killing of a school principal in Wisconsin by a student who complained that school authorities let other kids tease him for being homosexual (which is NOT a mental or emotional disorder, of course...) He just walked into school with handfulls of guns and started shooting. Sounds like he'd have done well in LA schools, whiere such things are the daily norm.
Finally, we have a fatal shooting today at an Amish (!?) school in Lancaster Co. PA. WTF,O? Again, clearly a copy-cat case. The perp killed at least three before turning the gun on himself. What evil would motivate such an act in a pacifist Mennonite community? Against their children?
Okay...let me make something clear: I will pray for the souls of these perpetrators and hope they can find some true reconciliation with God, but I am not averse to hastening or delaying their ultimate fates, by cruel and unusual means if warranted, despite the fact that a ridiculous clause in the Constitution takes away much of the deterrent power of punishment. Torture and brutal coercion work, on several levels, for several reasons, which is why I favor thier use against enemy combatants in our "war on terror." (The idea that humane treatment of jihadis will get us any fewer torturings and beheadings of US troops is the worst sort of errant squishy-pink, fern-bar nonsense. Thank you, John 'pink-panties' McCain) If you don't believe me, ask people in the mob-controlled neighborhoods of North Boston, downtown Atlantic City, and the Shreveport LA waterfront why violent crime rates have gone down so much. The real "authorities" in those neighborhoods (the mob) aren't as scrupulous as the police are and yet they preside over areas with great crime potential. Jane Jacobs talks about this in re North Boston in The Death and Life of Great American Cities. Effective enforcement of public decorum, even if potentially brutal, makes for better neighborhoods.
Okay, so I'll pray for the souls of the perps in these cases, but I have no problems hastening those who commit violent acts against children along the paths to meeting their gods. I think the government should bring back a punishment that was popular in 17th and 18th century England and America: It was usually called "half-hanging:" The criminal was strangled on the gallows (vice having his neck broken) until nearly dead. Then he was pulled down and his limbs lashed to four horses, who were spooked into bolting in different directions, dismembering the victim ("drawing and quartering"). (This could best be done with cars today). The head of the hapless criminal was usually stcuk somewhere prominent, pour le encourage le outres."
Kill all such criminals, and may God sort them out.
Monk
Update 03 Oct 06: It appears from TV reports that the Amish murderer tied his victims up and killed them execution style (thankfully, not all died). It all appears to revolve around the fact that he was jilted twenty or so years ago and was left embittered. Two observations:
1) This is the obvious and inevitable result of cultural liberalism -- the "Me and My Hemerrhoids Generation" and the idea that subjective feelings trump public behavior; an idea that pervades everything from liberal radio to the liberal courts. Liberals and Democrats killed those children every bit as much as the lone psycho did.
2) Drawing and quartering is too good for this guy. He should have his skin flayed with a length of razor wire, then be sewn inside a fresh cowhide with a colony of fire ants and left in the West Texas sun to dry.
God please forgive my mean-spiritedness, but some are predestinened to follow God, others to follow their own gods. I think we're fairly safe in classifying this guy.
Monk - Honorary Grand Inquisitor
Update 3 Oct 06: The Duchess of Austin replies:
Wow, you're pretty bloodthirsty for a religious guy....
I totally agree with you on the "cruel and unusual punishment" thing....the more the better, and put it on TV. I think capital punishment would be more of a deterrent if it was used more effectively, i.e., the perp doesn't sit on death row for 15 years while endless appeals for his miserable life play through the courts. One appeal, just to make sure they got the right guy, and then Pfffffft, he's gone.
I also think that caning young criminals instead of locking them up, ala Singapore, is a better means of dealing with teens. A little public humiliation goes a long way toward turning a potential criminal back to the light side.
Somebody should find out if the caning experience did anything to cure that American kid who got caned in Singapore a few years ago. My money says he's a solid citizen these days and his life of crime is behind him....
I wouldn't say so much that I'm bloodthirsty by nature, just that this confluence of evil events has put me in a bloodthirsty mood. This does not reflect good Christian practice, however, so I must try to get myself out of it.
I agree with the points you make in your comment, however. We've proven through a century of using prisons as a social petrie dish that reforming prisoners does not work. Centuries of earlier human experience proved that more "cruel and unusual" measures (by our standards today) do deter. Incidentally, torture is a very effective method of extracting information (as long as the info can be verified and the victim threatened with worse consequences if caught lying), think of it what you will. In fact, the best way of using it is to torture mildly and threaten worse, letting the victim's mind do most of the inquisitor's work for him. Imagined pain is usually worse than the real thing, because the latter can be gotten used to. A declassified Army manual on interrogation techniques of World War II vintage -- from back when we were unapologetic about such things -- makes the point in almost these very words. (Sadly, it's in my private library, not on the internet, so no link.)
Capital punishment is really effective only if it's swift and certain, as you say. Corporal punishment has been an accepted part of many Christian nations' practice for centuries. Why? Because it works.
Welcome, by the way; it's always good to hear from new readers.
Monk
posted by Monk | 18:10
